All posts tagged retail investors

What’s the difference between this equity rally and all the other hopeful upticks we’ve seen over the past couple of years?

The answer seems to be that, this time, retail investors are getting back in to a more significant degree. According to HSBC, while retail interest in equity has been sporadic at best since at least 2011, and outflows have dominated since 2009, the latest spurt of buying has lasted no less than nine weeks. That makes it rather a standout.

Famously unscientific, but also famously enduring, having been around since 1987, this poll merely asks members how they feel about stock markets over the next six months. There’s no nuance; respondents just have to pick between bullish, bearish or neutral.

Last week, the Association members were a bullish lot; more bullish indeed than they’ve been since January 2011, with 52.3% of them saying they felt good about stocks’ chances. That’s comfortably above the long-term average of 39.0%, and the ninth time it’s been topped in eight weeks.